Tom Kitchin's flagship Michelin starred restaurant with gorgeously designed interior, viewable kitchen and quality menus
This was my first Michelin starred restaurant to try in Edinburgh and it was a very strong opener. Not only was the quality of the food evident from the start, but there was clear attention to detail on the basic, set menu and this in itself is always a strong indicator. A beautifully designed interior by Tom Kitchin’s other half combined with his very obvious skill and wonderfully prepared dishes made an immediate impression and I would come back to here in a heart beat. This is a very safe option for virtually any occasion – romantic, business lunch, celebration or just wanting to be in good hands with a high degree of value for money.
It will be hard not to see how nice this place is when you get in. Staff clearly know their game here as was evident from the way in which everyone was on the ball and the opening salmon and cream cheese dip to nibble on was frankly worthy of a starter in itself as it was completely delightful to nibble on whilst waiting. A highly smooth carrot puree and finely chopped topping was a lovely, light way to begin as an amuse bouche (although a bit of spice may have livened it up a little) and the freshly made sour dough in its quadrant ball was perfectly done with velvet like butter.
The hare starter was a good break from the norm with faultlessly smooth celeriac veloute and the plaice wrapped in pancetta was another take on surf’n’turf I haven’t seen in a while (lovely salt value from the pancetta). The potato risotto made for a filling main and this was actually another nice suprise in that many set menus are the price they are because the portion sizes, for one, are less. Even though this was the case, it was still substantial enough. Perhaps the most lovely aspect was the apple crumble souffle and the fact that there was a nice surprise of apple gel at the bottom of the souffle was such a very pleasant touch (again, not seen before).
There’s not much more to add to this in that it was a tasty, well done lunch in a beautifully designed interior representing very good value for money. It was kind of Tom Kitchin to afford a few moments of his time to chat with a random, food obsessed diner such as myself afterwards and overall, it was pretty easy to see the high level that this venue was operating at.
Food Grade: 80%
My hobby-turned-passion began to evolve during my assignments to London where I was fortunate enough to be able to explore all the Michelin starred restaurants in my spare time and as a result, I gradually built up a catalogue of all these venues.
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